Van Fortress

The Fortress of Van also known as "Van Citadel" is a massive stone fortification built by the ancient kingdom of Urartu, overlooking Tushpa, the Urartu Capital . It is the largest of a number of similar fortifications built throughout the kingdom, where modern Armenia, Turkey and Iran meet, usually cut into hillsides and outcrops. The lower parts of the wall were built out of unmortared basalt, the rest out of mud-brick. Such fortresses were usually used for regional control, rather than for defense against foreign armies. The ruins of this building sit outside the modern city of Van, Turkey, Turkey, where they support walls built in the medieval era. [The Seventy Wonders of the Ancient World]

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